Perk Coffee

the espresso here is the move, full stop. perk sits on east 14th street in the east village, a stretch that's had coffee spots come and go, and this one has stayed for good reason. the regulars who keep coming back aren't doing it out of habit alone. you get the sense that people have folded this place into their actual routines, not just as a pit stop but as somewhere they'd be annoyed to lose. it's a neighborhood shop in the most literal sense: small, consistent, quietly confident about what it does. if you're in the area and you haven't settled on a plan yet, the espresso is where to start.